How Long Is A Month Again?
by alessandry
Summary: Desperate times call for desperate measures. And sometimes, those measures mean leaving one immature fairy, one short-tempered teen, one innocently cheery girl, one creepy smart girl, and a way too clever for his own good toddler at home alone for a month. But hey, what could go wrong? A lot, apparently. And who knew how much you could figure about someone in just thirty days.


**Hello my fellow Sisters Grimm fanatics.**

**I've read a whole butt-load of fanfiction before (more than is probably good for my health), but never really contributed.**

**So when this idea popped into my head, I decided to finally move from being a reader to a **_**writer**_**. *insert intense music***

**So I hope you enjoy, and feel free to tell me anything you like, whether it is constructive criticism (note the word constructive) or ideas of where to take the plot. I'm sort of just writing as I go so I'm up for any thoughts on what you think I should include in here!**

**Thanks!**

**Ch.1: Some Not-So-Great News**

Sabrina knew something was wrong as soon as she sat down at the table for dinner. For starters, the meal was normal. It was a placating gesture Granny Relda decided to take when something explosive had happened or was about to happen. She'd cook ordinary human food just to please those in her family with a hatred for exotic meals and an infamously short temper (cough cough Sabrina cough cough).

So when Sabrina sat down to a dinner consisting of chicken tenders and fries, she knew something was up. The probability of Granny Relda cooking frozen Tyson chicken from a bag was somewhere between never gonna happen and never _ever _gonna happen. Even requesting this meal for dinner would be considered a major offense in her grandmother's book.

And yet it had happened. Not a good sign.

Then there was the fact that Henry was fidgeting with his food, which was a little habit he had had, according to Veronica, ever since she'd first met him. At their first date he'd played with his food more than he'd eaten it- a nervous little motion he had gotten into the swing of. So he was nervous then. Interesting.

And Veronica was smiling way too much, talking about only happy things, not even addressing the fact that Basil had stuck two French fries up his nose, mimicking Puck, who was way too influential on that kid for his own good (or at least that's what Sabrina would say). And the smile seemed pressed, fake, like it did when she was trying to avoid conflict.

Uncle Jake wasn't talking, just eating his food methodically, bite of chicken, bite of fries, sip of water, repeat. Which was his special way of getting out of arguments. Uncle Jake could out-eat the next world war if he wanted to.

And Mr. Canis wasn't even at the table, which was a huge indicator in itself. That man would go to any costs to avoid confrontation, and if it meant skipping a meal, then so be it.

It was Puck who first addressed it, being his usual blunt self.

"Either the world is about to end or I have something in my teeth, because the assorted old people at this table are acting funny."

Henry rolled his eyes. "We are acting completely normal," he said indignantly. "And we're not old!" he added as an afterthought.

Puck proceeded to make obnoxious beep noises while pointing one of his chicken tenders around the table, until he gestured it at Henry and made the beeping sound much faster and more obnoxious.

Then he raised an eyebrow in a professional manor and gave Henry a disapproving look. "My lie detector disagrees, on both accounts."

"Oh is that what that is? I think you're using it wrong." Henry reached over and grabbed the chicken before Puck could react, ripping it in half and placing it back on Puck's plate with a flat look.

"You killed it! You sick, violent man. Old Lady, how could you have raised this beast as your child?"

"I ask myself the same question about _you _every day libeling."

"Ganging up on me then. Classic."

"God, save me from this immaturity," Sabrina muttered, rubbing her temples.

"You know you like it," Puck said with a smirk.

"No Puck. Like is not exactly the word I'd use."

Puck picked up half of the chicken and turned it towards Sabrina, making the beeping sound again, even louder and more annoyingly if possible.

"I will strangle you if you don't stop."

"Wow, you're sick and violent too! Guess it runs in the family."

Daphne then gave an offended little a squeak. "No it doesn't! I'm not either of those things!"

Puck gave her an incredulous look. "Really? Not _either_? Then what exactly would you call that incident with the spider last night?"

Daphne crossed her arms in a pout. "It was crawling on my wall! It threatened my well-being and therefore had to be killed!"

"Yeah, and I'm sure that's what every serial killer says to the police."

"I'm not a serial killer!"

Basil then scrunched up his nose and quirked his head. "Why would Daph kill cereal?"

Red patted him on the head and whispered something about "no, she doesn't kill Frosted Flakes BJ, just a lot of people."

Veronica then clapped her hands together, which was pretty much a signal for everyone to shut up, and they did, even Puck, though he was still smirking at Daphne, who was tactfully avoiding his gaze.

"Ok, you kids are right, we have something to say," she said calmly, with a wide grin that made Sabrina positive that this was going to be bad.

"So, the Everafters just got released from the magical boundaries of Ferryport, right?"

They all nodded.

"Well, now that they're free, they want to set up a government of their own, a sort of democracy that would apply to and unite all of the Everafters around the world."

The nods were much slower this time, as they still weren't sure what Veronica was getting at.

"Well, they're having a huge meeting about it this Monday in California, and then are using the whole month preparing to set it up. As you can guess, it's a pretty big deal. This is their first official government, and it could either mean a war or peace, success or defeat."

Veronica then turned to look at Henry, then Granny Relda, then Uncle Jake, who met her gaze over his bite of chicken, bite of fries, sip of water.

"And that's why we're going."

Sabrina paused for a bit, letting that sink in, then just shrugged. "Ok. So you want us to get packing? Monday happens to only be four days from now."

Henry shook his head. "No, _we're _going, as in me, your mother, Granny Relda, Uncle Jake, and Mr. Canis."

Sabrina paused again, letting _that _sink in.

"So you mean to tell me that _we_," she gestured at the others at the table, Red, Daphne, Puck, and Basil, "are going to be here with some babysitter for a month?"

Veronica laid a placating hand on her daughter's. "No, it means you are going to be here alone for a month."

And then Sabrina was standing up. "What! That's the worst idea I've ever heard of in my entire life! Why don't you just take us with you?"

Granny Relda sighed. "Because, libeling, this is confidential and adult-only and we happen to be pretty important in this whole deal. We can't hire a sitter because all Everafters are pretty much going to be there and no human sitter could stay a day here without somehow figuring out that we aren't exactly normal, and besides, what sitter would even want to stay for a whole month?"

"So your conclusion is to let us stay home, alone, for a whole. Freaking. Month."

Veronica pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a breath. "Listen, sweetheart, this is last minute, we know. The Everafters kind of threw the idea at us two nights ago too, and after a lot of discussion we figured out this was the best idea. Besides, you and Puck are sixteen now, you can watch over a toddler and two kids, right?"

Sabrina snorted. "I can, sure. But Mr. Farts-a-lot here can't even tie his own shoes, let alone watch over kids!"

Puck was actually looking quite happy about the whole thing, propping his feet up on the table and stretching back in his chair with that little grin plastered on his face. "Actually, I think this all sounds wonderful. Being supreme ruler of the household for a month, being able to use these weaklings as personal slaves without being yelled at about it, eating whatever I want whenever I want with no questions asked… One question though: how long is a month again?"

"Shoot me now," Sabrina muttered, rubbing her face in her hands.

"I think it's gonna be fun!" Basil decided to add then, still chewing through a mouthful of poultry.

"I agree. I'm sure we'll all be fine, Mrs. Grimm," Red said with a reassuring grin at Veronica.

Uncle Jake, apparently seeing that the most imminent danger was over, stopped eating for a second. "See? Lil' Red knows what she's talking about. Just stay out of my magic things and my room, and it'll all be great! Easy-peasy."

Daphne gave him a puppy dog look. "All of the magic things? But I wanted to try out those gloves you told me about that-"

"Yes, all of the magic things. And no buts."

Which of course made Puck and Basil break out into little fits of giggles.

Sabrina shot them both death glares before turning back to her grandmother. "When are you leaving?"

Granny Relda smiled sympathetically. "Day after tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll go over house rules and make sure you all have everything you need, that you are set up for success. The next day, Saturday, we'll be gone before you even wake up. We'll travel all Saturday, stop at a hotel, probably travel all Sunday and end up in another hotel, and then make it to California early Monday."

Sabrina groaned loudly. So much for her summer being peaceful and quiet. No, she had just gotten landed watching three (more like four) kids for half of her entire vacation time. Not to mention that she'd be missing out on an awesome drive-through-your-country-and-be-amazed-at-its-beauty road trip. Fantastic. Just fantastic.

"Do we get paid for this?" Puck asked with a raised eyebrow and a pleased little smirk.

Veronica sighed. "Seven hundred bucks. Each."

"Pssh, I'm all in," Puck said, grin widening.

Well, Sabrina supposed that did make things a bit better.

She harrumphed and uncrossed her arms. "Fine. But I swear, if the house isn't here when you guys are back, you better not blame me."

Basil nudged Red in the side. "Why is 'Brina swearing? Aren't those bad words?"

Red just shook her head and sighed.

***o*o***

The next morning and afternoon were full of frayed nerves and paranoid instructions.

"The milk goes in the fridge. Got it?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes at her mom. "Yes mom, I'm not an imbecile, I know where milk goes," making a face at Puck as he promptly took the milk out of the fridge and took a long swig of it.

"Puck! Other people want to drink that too, you know," Sabrina snapped, shooting him an irritated look. He just shrugged and held the carton out for her to drink, and she rolled her eyes and pushed it away.

Veronica ignored them, going over some mental checklist and then saying, "And make sure to check its expiration date! Milk goes bad very fast."

Sabrina, even more annoyed now, sighed. "Yes mom, I know how the process of food going bad works, and also the process of looking for the expiration date on the label of food. I'm not a two-year old."

"Hey, what's an expiration date?" Puck asked off-handedly as he searched through the contents of the fridge.

Sabrina slapped his prying hand away and slammed the fridge door. "Puck, we came down to the kitchen to learn the kitchen rules, not to eat, got it?"

"Yes mom," Puck mumbled with a smirk.

"For god's sake, if you call me that one more time…"

Puck just grinned and winked.

Veronica, who had missed the argument again while skimming over a mental checklist, said a little "ah hah!" and pulled them over to the trashcan.

"Ok, trash gets picked up every Thursday. Make sure that the trashbags are in the trashcans and the trashcans are on the edge of the driveway ready to be picked up, unless you want weekfuls of trash piling up."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Puck said.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "That's because it is Puck. Trash is gross and smells bad and everybody hates it, although I can see why you two would relate."

"Geez Grimm, don't get your panties in a wad."

"If you make one more comment even implying the word panties, I am going to punch you in the face."

"Yes mom."

"Puck, I will-"

"Guys, you need to get along if you're going to watch the kids, set a good example, be responsible. Which means no fighting. Imagine that you two are parents- would you want your children to watch you argue?" Veronica said pointedly.

Puck put his arm over Sabrina and smirked. "I don't know honey, what do you think?" he said in a deep voice.

"When are you guys getting back?" Sabrina said, trying to ignore Puck and shoving his arm off of her.

Veronica grinned sympathetically. "July 3rd. Don't worry, we'll all be back for the Fourth of July."

Puck nodded. "Good. I wouldn't want the kids to be upset. Whatever's best for them is best for me, that's my motto," he said, patting Sabrina on the shoulder.

Sabrina swatted at his hands and jabbed him in the ribcage with her finger, a spot she had learned was sensitive for him and that she never hesitated taking advantage of. Just as she had expected, he shrunk back, shooting her a look. "How dare you use my weaknesses against me," he spat.

Sabrina shrugged. "Sorry, _honey_."

Veronica was rubbing her head again, looking stressed. "Could you stop bickering for two seconds!" she said loudly before taking a calming breath. "Ok, let's move on to the bathroom chores. I'm going to teach you both how to plunge the toilet."

And that's how the rest of the day went, Sabrina trying her best not to murder Puck, Puck trying his best to annoy Sabrina, and Veronica and the other adults trying their best to make sure the two teenagers were ready to look after the house alone for a month. Sabrina had been given a list of easy to cook meals and the ingredients needed, and a huge wad of cash as well as a credit card to be used for groceries and other necessities.

She was even being left a car, albeit the old, trashy one her grandmother drove. The rest of the family would be taking the new, shiny Ford all the way to California, no doubt partying and having fun without her.

She was set to go.

Soon Friday was coming to an end, the last night the family would be spending together before they left. Dinner was nice, although it was broken by random comments and reminders from both Henry and Veronica.

After that they watched _Frozen_, which had become some sort of family favorite (a day had not yet passed where no one sang a single song), and Daphne cried a bit, partially because _oh Ana your sister does love you! _and partially because her parents were leaving the next day.

Then they all played a bit of cards, had root beer floats, and headed to bed. Sabrina was lying in her room, making sure her alarm was set for early the next morning so she could get breakfast ready for everyone, when her father walked in.

"Hey 'Brina," he said with a lopsided grin.

She returned the smile. "Hey dad. You all packed?"

"Oh yeah, but I'm pretty sure I packed ten pairs of underwear too many."

Sabrina laughed. "Mom made you?"

Henry nodded, a lovesick little grin on his face. "What can I say? She was always an intense packer."

"And an intense worrier."

"No, that's her and me both," Henry said affectionately, leaning down to plant a kiss on his daughter's head.

Then, he became suddenly serious. "Now listen Sabrina, if you need anything, anything at all, just call me. I'm perfectly fine with booking a last minute flight and coming right back over here if my baby's in any trouble."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, smiling a bit. "Dad, I'm not a baby, and I won't get in any trouble."

"I know, I know, intense worrier, remember? Oh, and also, you know, you're getting to that age where, um relationships might mean something and you might, I don't know, want to be in a relationship with other people, or boys, and, uh, well…"

"Dad."

"But sometimes that's not the right thing to do, even though some part of you wants it. I don't want you out dilly dallying with boys while I'm gone or anything."

"_Dad._"

"And listen, I know you and Puck's relationship is complicated, at most, but that doesn't allow you to make rash decisions or anything, so don't be thinking you can go 'taking things to the next level' now that old daddy isn't here. It's bad enough that you two are in the same house together. Temptations are strong and hard to deal with at this age, and he's a boy, and you're a girl, and-"

"_DAD!_" Sabrina interrupted hastily, face bright red as she shook her head repeatedly. "We're just friends, Dad, less even. He probably considers me one of his enemies, arch-enemy maybe, if he can look past Peter Pan. He's dramatic that way."

"I know, but sweetheart, someday-"

"Dad. Stop," Sabrina said firmly, feeling annoyance and embarrassment and uncomfortableness mix together into one awkward feeling.

He sighed, still looking troubled, but dropped the subject. "Ok honey, I trust you to take care of yourself. And you're siblings. And remember, if you need anything, anything at all." He made a phone with his hand and pressed it to his ears.

Sabrina nodded. "Don't worry though, I can handle this. Now go to bed, or you're going to be really grumpy when you wake up at 3:00 AM tomorrow morning."

"You're right," he said, kissing her forehead again. "Love you 'Brina."

"Love you too Dad."

When he was gone, she sighed loudly and sank down into her bed, trying to put what her dad had said out of her mind.

It was Granny Relda that did the trick. She walked in then, smiling widely as she pulled Sabrina into a hug. "See you in a month libeling!" she said softly.

"You too Granny. Don't get into too much trouble."

Granny Relda winked, but the grin in her eyes slowly died away as she dropped her voice. "Listen Sabrina, I just want you to know that some Everafters aren't happy with the way things turned out, with the way they have to hide from the humans. Some are mad at us, very mad. Mad enough for their thoughts to lead them actions, which are bound to be nothing good."

Sabrina raised an eyebrow, suddenly rapt on her grandmother's every word. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, be careful. The Grimm name isn't always one that everyone adores. And sometimes it brings more danger than I'm comfortable with you dears being in."

Sabrina nodded, a frown tugging at her lips, but before she knew it Granny Relda planted a swift kiss on her cheek and was gone.

Uncle Jake and Veronica stopped by too, givng their well-wishes, good lucks, and fitting in some more last minute nagging (Veronica's about food, health, and safety and Uncle Jake's about staying out of his stuff and not blowing anything up).

Mr. Canis also gave a quiet farewell, and then they were all asleep, and Sabrina was alone lying awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to sort through her emotions, ranging from fear and panic to confusion and curiosity. Her phone pinged suddenly, and she picked it up, only to see it was a text from Puck.

_Hey Grimmsie, I was thinking tomorrow we could fill the house with fireworks and other kinds of highly flammable things, throw some gasoline on it, and light her up. Just to see what would happen, you know? In the name of science._

Sabrina pushed a hand against her forehead to try and stave off the growing headache. Her phone pinged again.

_You know darling, I'm sure the kids would love it._

Sabrina had to put up her phone to stop herself from breaking it in half. Instead, she just sighed and lay back down with a huff.

This was going to be one long month.

**And that's a wrap (for now).**

**I will try to update once a week, or as often I can. I have some pretty good ideas of what to do with this story but, as I said before, advice is always welcome!**

**Thanks again!**

**-alessandry**


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